The two returned to a small restaurant near the police station, ordered some food, and requested some wine.
Xiao Xun looked at the beer Zhang Ming brought over, "Is it okay for you to drink at work?"
Zhang Ming flicked the bottle cap off with the end of his chopsticks, "If you hadn't called me, I would have been asleep. I'm not on duty today."
After speaking, he poured a full glass for Xiao Xun, "Haven't we been out of touch since graduation? If I hadn't been on patrol that day, I wouldn't have known you'd achieved so much."
Xiao Xun waved his hand, "Don't say that. You're quite remarkable too."
Zhang Ming picked up his glass and drank it down in one go, "Remarkable? Of the four of us in the dorm, I'm doing the worst. Our老大, that's a given, he's the pride of the school. His photo will surely hang on the alumni celebrity wall in the school's teaching building eventually. Old Four, although his grades aren't good, he has a wealthy and influential family. When he goes home, he doesn't have to do anything, just holds treasury shares and is a director of a listed company. He's known as Young Master Wang."
Seeing Zhang Ming's dejected look, Xiao Xun poured him another full glass and clinked it, "Looking at me now as a leader, I'm actually in a worse situation than you."
Zhang Ming drank it down again, "You don't need to say it. My colleague's family is also wealthy and influential. After he came out of your company that day, he told me about your situation."
Xiao Xun knew that his colleague must have exaggerated everything, not for any other reason than to put down the arrogant Zhang Ming. It was like that at school; no one bowed to anyone, except for the legendary Lu Qiaoya of the same year.
The two reminisced about their school days. Zhang Ming had more pleasant memories, while Xiao Xun had fewer.
Although his family ran a restaurant, a small town restaurant wouldn't earn much, nor could it provide much for Xiao Xun.
Perhaps Xiao Xun's monthly living expenses were less than the cost of a pair of basketball shoes Zhang Ming had back then, let alone others.
Therefore, Zhang Ming had always felt he was the one in the dorm who was better than some and better off than others. But after facing the "beating" of society.
Now he considered himself at the bottom, and that feeling was quite disheartening.
Actually, everyone has their own struggles. If he knew Xiao Xun's current predicament, he would feel fortunate, because his life would not be threatened, and he could live carefree and freely under the blue sky.
Wang Pinggang was the "crown prince" of a listed group, a genuine second-generation rich heir. However, his current listed group owed the bank so much money each month that it likely couldn't be repaid in a lifetime, all depending on his good attitude.
Wang Pinggang had the best relationship with Xiao Xun in the dorm. Back then, he often said he envied Xiao Xun.
Moreover, at their graduation gathering, he got drunk and held Xiao Xun's hand, saying, "I've enjoyed all the blessings in this life, so it hasn't been lived in vain. If one day I go before you, you must live the rest of my days well for me."
But after graduation, the two became like kites with broken strings, with no further connection.
Xiao Xun was being hunted for trespassing into an untouchable "absolute domain," and Wang Pinggang could only see news about him through online news.
As for Lu Qiaoya, he had completely disappeared without a trace. But everyone believed he was a living legend, and all three were proud to have been his roommates.
The two drank from past eleven at night until two in the morning. Xiao Xun, staggering, sent Zhang Ming back to the police dormitory.
He called a designated driver to take him back to the villa area, but fell asleep in the car.
He woke up in the latter half of the night due to thirst. Seeing that he was surrounded by desolate wilderness, the designated driver was long gone.
Instantly, the alcohol wore off. He rubbed his eyes. The wind outside was blowing fiercely, chilling the car.
The howling sound sent a shiver down Xiao Xun's spine. Soon, raindrops as large as soybeans hit the glass, and faint sounds of thunder could be heard.
He felt for his phone, found it, checked the time, it was already past four o'clock. He called the designated driver.
From the earpiece, a voice said, "Sorry, the user you have dialed cannot be reached at the moment. Please try again later..."
Xiao Xun hung up the phone, opened the phone's navigation, and realized he was in the opposite direction from the villa area.
He didn't care about anything else. Not daring to get out of the car, he crawled from the back seat to the driver's seat, started the car, turned on the headlights, and drove back to the villa area at an extremely fast speed.
Due to the shock, his forehead was covered in sweat. By the time he entered the community, he was still shaken, his heart pounding.
It wasn't until later that he remembered he had dedicated protection that he felt relieved.
Because it was raining heavily, he didn't have time to check the car for any damage and directly entered the house through the small door of the garage.
The game on the computer was still in progress. Since Xiao Xun was not operating it, it had entered a stalemate in the siege battle.
The robots lacked strategy, building waves of different troops every so often and sending them to be beaten. In half a day, they had only destroyed one turret.
It was only when several races attacked together that they reached this point.
Xiao Xun's defensive formations were impregnable; they could only be broken through with absolute military force.
At this moment, he had no mood to play. He quickly closed the computer, then remembered that although Black Shark was caught, the person who threatened him was still at large.
He had only given Xiao Xun two days. If he didn't give up his position within two days, Xiao Xun couldn't understand what irreparable price the other party could make him pay.
He glanced at the time, it was already past five o'clock. Although it was raining outside, the sky was beginning to turn white.
He prepared some food that only required heating, took a hot shower, set an alarm, and planned to sleep for another two hours.
He slept very comfortably. When he woke up, it was already past ten in the morning.
He glanced at the time on his phone and was instantly startled awake. He quickly put on his clothes, "Damn it, I remember setting an alarm."
He walked out of the bedroom and saw the new housekeeper cleaning the room. Seeing Xiao Xun, she politely greeted him.
Xiao Xun asked the housekeeper, "Where is President Mu?"
The housekeeper pointed to the basement, "President Mu exercises in the gym every week."
Xiao Xun went to the basement gym and saw Mu Jiahe "sweating profusely," so he walked over.
"President Mu, aren't you supposed to be at work today?"
Mu Jiahe got off the exercise bike and looked at Xiao Xun as if he were a monster, "Don't you have a calendar on your phone? Don't you know what day it is today?"
"I know it's Saturday, but I was working last Saturday too!"
Mu Jiahe wiped the sweat from his brow with a towel and got on the treadmill, "Are you confused? Last Saturday you were at Dingtai Group, not St. Noah's."
Xiao Xun stood by the treadmill, "But I drove you to work and picked you up from work that day!"
"The company has on-duty leaders during holidays. I was on duty last Saturday."
Xiao Xun excitedly clenched his fist, "Does that mean I can go out today?"
Mu Jiahe nodded, "Yes, can you leave now?"
Xiao Xun ran out as if he were escaping, but quickly returned.